pretty as a picture

The Songs

living like a king (3:56)
I paid for it - it's mine
I bought it - time and time again
I've known the joy
that they can bring
silver bullets and golden arrows
I must be living like a king

I go knockin' - ain't nobody home
arms, legs, heads and bodies
and still I feel alone
and when you recognize
this multitude of means
and a solitary end
you know you're living like a king

and when you get excited
I have to pull the plug
and while I may not wish it...

I am - what I am
it'd be nice
to be a person among people
but I only know how
to be a master or a man of war
I've had the toys
the frilly things
you know it's almost not worth it
when you're living like a king

and when you're spilling over
I get to pull the plug
and while it's my decision...

I drink - from life's cup
yeah, there's the difference
I fall down but I always get up
and as I rise
into this spacious spring
you're on your own now
cause I'm through living like a king
©1995 arant/farber
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monster (5:23)
well I walked to the home
of the long conversation
but that day found that river
as dry as a bone
so I shot for the site
of my standing ovation
for there in the playground
I would not feel alone

well I came around the corner
like the cold wind that chases
all hope from the feeling
or the sap from a tree
and I tried not to notice
the looks on their faces
for the kind will not mention
what's for all plain to see

I got a monster-
and he's taken my eyes
from their sockets
I got a monster-
and he's stealing my blood
for his own
and all that I'm doing
is lining his pockets
monster-
I'm begging don't leave me alone

well I dropped a few bucks
and I danced on the table
not a one dared to mention
this dazzling array
so plead if you must
but run if you're able
while it's the claws you may fear
it's the teeth you'll obey

now they're dragging the river
for what only he can deliver
what's now only a sliver
of who lived here before
now the darkness is dearer
and it all seems much clearer
since I looked in the mirror
at the one I adore

well I traded my ticket
my stamp I did lick it
I've been lost in this thicket
since a long, long time ago
and as I crawl through the flowers
and each thorn turns to hours
he's as sure and as cold
and as pure as the snow
©1995 arant/farber
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pretty as a picture (3:46)
didn't do it my way
I'd be lucky if I did it at all
don't think I'm gonna fly away
I'll be lucky if I do not crawl
opening this door for you
is just like breaking into jail
you may not need me if the money comes
you sure won't need me when I fail
last time around I think I heard a click, sir
this mean old world is just as pretty as a picture

needed someone just like you
to learn that I can give what I ain't got
got a real good talking to
meet you at 8:30 on the dot
great to have a second chance
most guys won't go that far
they were looking at their magazines
as I was getting in the car
last one to go
I think that did the trick, sir
this mean old world
is just as pretty as a picture

waiting on his eminence
get used to livin' life without a care
slipping 'neath a barbwire fence
really knowing why they put it there
knowin' when your time is up
and knowin' when it's only time to go
cherishing a private thought
and making sure it's never gonna show
last one to go
think I got it licked, sir
this mean old world
is just as pretty as a picture
©1995 arant/farber
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-007 (4:24)
caught in a shuffle
just trying to cope
there's not much light in my tunnel
just a face and its hope
you live in a dream
that I built for you
you love what I built
you love what I do

let it go let it go
everything's been said
let it go let it go
listen to your head

and so you killed me
and you stabbed at my heart
when I learned we were friends
I fell apart
I think of all the truth
I was giving to you
the truth was selfishness
I wanted you

why don't you let it go...

I saw a wounded soldier
stopped to study the pain
I got a little close
it turned to a game
it seems so close
but it's far away
I want to smell your flesh
I want you to stay
©1995 arant/farber
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winning every battle (4:14)
man throwin' dice at the side of a fence
he don't know what he's up against
man takes off on down the road
he's gonna see his story told
man takes a drink in the early day
he found a way to make it pay
he found out something he can use
baby needs a pair of shoes
baby can you figure that
he pulled it right out of his hat
and when he took his golden prize
tried that puppy on for size
feelin' just a little odd
all dolled up like a lightning rod
waking up all alone
in the twilight zone
with his motor blown

he was winning every battle...

man digs himself a deeper hole
gets a longer face and a longer pole
gets a longer list for a shorter day
a celebrated lump of clay
meanwhile back down on the ranch
he's riding out the avalanche
slicin', dicin' in retreat
burning rubber down the street

last thing he ate was the golden goose
living in the jungle in an old caboose
sitting in the shade of the soda stand
letting four dimensions get the upper hand
holding on to something that's not even there
dancing in the shadow of the dragon's lair
looking through the haystack
for his bobby pin
selling off his very last specimen
putting too much down
on a bob-tailed nag
dreaming 'bout the big one
he was gonna bag
trying to read the manual
by the light of the moon
telling everybody she would be back soon
sending all his money to a tv show
putting all his pencils in a tidy row
waiting for the limousine to meet him there
screaming like a demon on a double dare

he was losing every battle...
©1995 arant/farber
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bo maxwell (4:19)
sneakin' out of town
while the sun was goin' down
hiding and a hedging
trading in my legend
limping down the street
baking in the heat
had an outfit that flaunted
what nobody wanted
you made it sound
like a whole lot of fun
hey, bo maxwell, I owe you one

come won't you try a slice
of this week's pariah
won't you welcome to the ring
and take a little swing
got used to losin'
with the bait we was usin'
had to get good at fightin'
cause those fish just weren't bitin'
all the same
I still felt like a fortunate son
hey, bo maxwell, I owe you one

you were sliding into second
when that blue sky, it beckoned
that was way back in september
hey, buddy, you remember
when the thing just wasn't rollin'
that's when we'd go a bowlin'
when nobody was lookin'
that's when you'd start a cookin'
I was looking at my cheat sheet
when you took off down a side street
if you've got a big one and you know it
don't be afraid to blow it
I know that when you're ready
you'll pick up that baby and run
hey, bo maxwell, I owe you one
©1995 arant/farber
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judgment day (4:12)
in the reckless pursuit of
something I saw upon tv
I think I bartered the farm
I know I got down on one knee
in a monkey skin suit
I jumped right off the beaten track
with a size thirteen boot
I think I broke my mother's back

with a fistfull of dollars and hell to pay
set me a place on judgment day
I'll wait for the plate
coming down from above
on judgment day let me eat love

it's just a matter of time
now that I know I'm going down
another bottle of wine
another night out on the town
and when that wrecking ball comes
all of the insides will be gone
with a ten story crane
I'll be the first to cheer them on

if salvation is all
that it's cracked up to be
when I get to the front
of the line I'll agree
I can't keep track anymore
of what they pump under the door
I've got the shaker the salt
you bring the bottle and I'll pour
glued to my seat
I can't even move my head
in an hour or two
maybe I'll put this mess to bed
©1995 arant/farber
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hard (as I wanna be) (5:12)
you might forget your own true name
when you're ridin' on the gravy train
you might slip beneath the wheel
as you try to cut a better deal
you might hook up with a setting star
you might be lucky if you get that far
you might cut me off at the pass
you might break like a piece of glass

when the kingdom comes
and the siren blows
if I ain't ready i'll be the first to know
I'm just as hard, hard, hard as I wanna be

you can rip away the veil
catch a tiger by the tail
you can sink a hole in one
you can think that you've just begun
you can fly in the face of fear
but let me make
this one thing crystal clear
I'm just as hard...

you might catch a little flak
when you go to hell and back
and you might look a little pale
when you blaze a little bit of trail
when you break
your first couple of eggs
it might be hard to find your legs

when the kingdom comes...
©1995 arant/farber
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my little girl (5:09)
through the grass and the trees I was running
through the grass and the trees I did fly
as I fell to my knees in the water
there was not time to tell you goodbye
there was not time to tell you goodbye

through the station in hopes that I'd catch you
through the station with tears in my eyes
for forever I wanted to hold you
as I watched you say goodbye
yes I let you go goodbye

and I wish that I could have been better
and I wish I could have been there
and I hope that someday my looking
will show me the how why where
and what
what ever happened
what ever happened
what ever happened to my little girl

in the sleepy wee hours of the morning
in the sleepy wee hours of the day
as I watch you there sleeping beside me
I can watch as you slip away
yes I know you're gone away
©1995 arant/farber
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the hurtin' game (3:13)
ain't gonna kick myself for tryin'
ain't gonna stay where the fists are flyin'
ain't gonna pass this way again
cause life's too long I said so long
to the hurtin' game

never did get a chance to test the water
I hear they get a pretty good price these days
for cannon fodder
ain't gonna just stand here in the rain
cause life's too long I said so long
to the hurtin' game

first thing I knew was the sound
of that whistle blowin'
there ain't no need to bet
when all the cards are showin'
ain't gonna go the way I came
cause life's too long I said so long
to the hurtin game

ain't gonna make a list
of all the things that I ain't knowin'
ain't gonna point
when my butt is showin'
in this life you don't have to jump
to find the flame
cause life's too long...
©1995 arant/farber
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